Things required to join Top Law Schools Forum

[lawbull335]

Hey everyone,
Im just starting my undergrad this year, but Im pretty sure that I wanna go to law school after Im done with that as my major by itself will be pretty much useless, and law school offers incredible versatility. Currently my resume is crap, so I was wondering, other than the obvious high GPA and LSAT score, what else do top law schools look for?

Is it important to join lots of clubs and participate in extracurricular activities? Is volunteer/work experience important? Is volunteer experience better to have than work experience? How important are letters of reference, and how would I be able to ensure good ones? What else is on most applications? Basically I need to know what I need to do over the next few years that will help me with getting into top law schools like Yale or Harvard, other than the LSAT and GPA. Yea I know I really have no idea if I have a shot at getting in yet, but no harm done in aiming for the top. Thanks for any help.

Im also an international student and I was wondering how that would affect my chances of getting in, and if theres anything I can do that would help with that.

How much does the difficulty of the major depend on your chances of getting in? And is taking hard electives a good thing to do? Right now Im in sciences but Im thinking about transfering and getting either a commerce degree or majoring in economics, would that not be as impressive as one of the harder science degrees?

[sckon]

Hey everyone,
Im just starting my undergrad this year, but Im pretty sure that I wanna go to law school after Im done with that as my major by itself will be pretty much useless, and law school offers incredible versatility. Currently my resume is crap, so I was wondering, other than the obvious high GPA and LSAT score, what else do top law schools look for?


Is it important to join lots of clubs and participate in extracurricular activities? to a degree. Don't go overboard and kill your GPA though. Is volunteer/work experience important? yes Is volunteer experience better to have than work experience? depends on the school and the type of volunteer experience. How important are letters of reference, and how would I be able to ensure good ones? not that important. just find three good professors you have taken classes with. Most likely they have a template they use for everyone.What else is on most applications?basic information crap Basically I need to know what I need to do over the next few years that will help me with getting into top law schools like Yale or Harvard, other than the LSAT and GPA. Yea I know I really have no idea if I have a shot at getting in yet, but no harm done in aiming for the top. Thanks for any help.

Im also an international student and I was wondering how that would affect my chances of getting in, and if theres anything I can do that would help with that.

How much does the difficulty of the major depend on your chances of getting in? little to no effect.And is taking hard electives a good thing to do? not if it is going to sacrifice your GPA.Right now Im in sciences but Im thinking about transfering and getting either a commerce degree or majoring in economics, would that not be as impressive as one of the harder science degrees? that would be fine

[booboo]

Hey everyone,
Im just starting my undergrad this year, but Im pretty sure that I wanna go to law school after Im done with that as my major by itself will be pretty much useless, and law school offers incredible versatility. Currently my resume is crap, so I was wondering, other than the obvious high GPA and LSAT score, what else do top law schools look for?


Is it important to join lots of clubs and participate in extracurricular activities? to a degree. Don't go overboard and kill your GPA though. Is volunteer/work experience important? yes Is volunteer experience better to have than work experience? depends on the school and the type of volunteer experience. How important are letters of reference, and how would I be able to ensure good ones? not that important. just find three good professors you have taken classes with. Most likely they have a template they use for everyone.What else is on most applications?basic information crap Basically I need to know what I need to do over the next few years that will help me with getting into top law schools like Yale or Harvard, other than the LSAT and GPA. Yea I know I really have no idea if I have a shot at getting in yet, but no harm done in aiming for the top. Thanks for any help.

Im also an international student and I was wondering how that would affect my chances of getting in, and if theres anything I can do that would help with that.

How much does the difficulty of the major depend on your chances of getting in? little to no effect.And is taking hard electives a good thing to do? not if it is going to sacrifice your GPA.Right now Im in sciences but Im thinking about transfering and getting either a commerce degree or majoring in economics, would that not be as impressive as one of the harder science degrees? that would be fine

Excellent responses sckon. +1.

[yeff]

law school offers incredible versatility.

True, but also not true. Don't go to law school if you don't want to be a lawyer.

[Borhas]

Listen buddy, you need to actually want to be a lawyer, and not simply go to law school. Hang around this board long enough and you'll realize just how ignorant and arrogant a lot (probably MOST) of your future peers will be. Don't enter this environment unless you think you will find meaning in your work... odds are you won't find the money. If you think your major sucks then for god's sake change it! You have plenty of time to do so. BUT don't change it something you'll hate for the sake of finding a job. MOST careers out there don't have a pre-made major, like Medicine and Accounting, etc. Furthermore, if you happen to go to one of the eliTTTist (the TTT is meant to be ironic/satirical of this sordid community) then this is even more true to you, you will be hired and trained at your job... so find a field that interests you and study it (unless it's engineering) and learn to like learning.

Anyway, enough preaching,

Assuming you want to be a lawyer

It's simple, and I wish I had known this earlier:

1a: LSAT (it CAN be practiced for, intelligence is NOT sufficient or necessary for doing well! Practice, Practice, Practice. Study for it starting now by reading a lot. You can study the reasoning and games aspects 3-6 months before the actual test date)
1b: GPA (regardless of what the difficulty, snob appeal of it happens to be)
2: Good character (community service, work, hardships over come)
#2 won't really matter to your application process unless your numbers are borderline and/or you are trying to get into Yale or Stanford, however, #2 is the most important to your life.

Other information to know: what do you value? Where do you want to work?

Odds are you won't get into one of the national schools, in which case it would help to know which region you want to work in.

[reasonable_man]

Law schools for the most part care about your LSAT score, your GPA and whether or not you are a URM (race). The last one you can't do much about (though people seem to try). The second item is within your control right now. Work hard and get a good gpa.

[toolshed]

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[yeff]

reasonable_man is most reasonable.

Find your passion. Study hard to get a good GPA, and when it is LSAT time, study hard for that too. But find your passion.

This advice in unhelpful because there's no step-by-step guide (AFAIK ) to discover what inspires you. But your life will be better for it.

[njskatchmo]

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[lawyering]

I would disagree that LORs aren't important. I think it would benefit undergrads now to start thinking about getting to know one or two professors really well, take more than one class with them, etc. Form letters don't impress. But reading a letter from someone who is really going to bat for them does. Don't choose profs with big names who have no idea who you are. Pick profs who are truly IMPRESSED with you. It could make a difference on your apps.

[devilishangelrjp]

I don't want to be a lawyer. Law degrees are good for politics, government, international affairs, consulting (in conjunction with another degree), and toilet paper. So I would argue that it is quite versatile. Plus you could always just be a lawyer.

Of course it's versatile, but that's really not a good reason to go into law school. Law school is not a dumping ground for people because they can't find a job with the major they chose in undergrad and law school seems "versatile." Law school is meant to train lawyers.

[09042014]

I don't want to be a lawyer. Law degrees are good for [strike]politics[/strike]A JD won't help you in politics, but instead people who are interested in law are often interested in politics, [strike]government[/strike]as a lawyer, [strike]international affairs[/strike]Maybe Yale or Harvard, nobody is going to let you do internation affairs just because you have a JD from Michigan, [strike]consulting (in conjunction[/strike] with another degree), and toilet paper. So I would argue that it is quite versatile. Plus you could always just be a lawyer.

[Veyron]

I call flame but... a law degree does not offer any versitility, even one from a top school.